


Forever Missing You

by Serpex



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alone, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Brotherly Bonding, Cage Fights, Child Rogue, Childhood, Coming of Age, Death, Fights, Flashbacks, Loneliness, Loss of Control, M/M, No Incest, Past, Past Abuse, Regret, Reminiscing, Trust Issues, Violence, stingue
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 14:02:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12654993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serpex/pseuds/Serpex
Summary: Rogue feels alone. His whole life has always been like this. But one day, everything changes the moment he sees a blonde haired boy walk through the guild doors.





	Forever Missing You

He plagues me with an unending presence that follows me in the shadows. For everything I do, he mocks me in amusement. And for each passing moment, my tolerance grows meek and thin. He is the other part of me, the one who lurks in the shadows only I can see. However, in this dreaded reality of hell, he is my only friend.

I don't remember too much from my childhood. Back then, he didn't exist. I only knew strength, honor, integrity, and hidden.

Always hidden.

That was what Skiadrum taught me. The way of the shadow dragon was not of light. It is a silent respect, a power shrouded under an obscure curtain. But there are times I yearned to become a man who stands on the stage, not lying in the shadow of another. For a long time, I found this impossible until I saw the hero who would become my sworn brother.

His name was Gajeel Redfox, and he was like me. I wanted to be like him, a noble dragon slayer who wasn't afraid to show his power. He always took the consequences with no shame. If I could become like him, then I could leave my own shadow on the world.

And then, for once in my life, I felt like my two feet could take me anywhere. So, I joined Phantom Lord as a servant. Even though I wasn't old enough to be an official mage, I admired Gajeel from afar every moment I could.

I never approached him though. And he never even glanced at me. It wasn't until a special request arrived at the front doors addressed to our master that all hell broke loose.

It was a simple task. All that was asked of Master Jose was to retrieve this wealthy man's daughter. This triggered him however, and he prepared to wage war with the ones known as Fairy Tail. And it was in this moment my old instincts returned. Fear of revealing who I truly was.

On the day of the attack when the Element 4 and everyone was riled up in Oak Town, I ran. I went to a forest range away from the eyes of people and let the tears I had been holding back fall to the ground.

I hadn't even heard, smelled, or sensed the man himself come up behind me. A hand patted me on the head, and I snapped my shocked red eyes to meet Gajeel's own crimson orbs. He bent down and sat next to me drying my eyes.

"Sorry, Ryos, I just can't stand seeing kids cry," he stated. I gaped at him, unable to resume the conversation. Uncertainty clouded the iron dragon slayer's eyes.

"That is your name, right?" he questioned. I turned away and nodded. Gajeel grunted and continued. It was exhilarating when he said my name like I mattered. It wasn't my real name, but a name nonetheless.

"You're a dragon slayer like me. That I can tell. Phantom Lord is changing soon and I'm going to need someone to watch my back. You're a quiet guy. Hell, if you weren't, I'd have kicked your ass almost as much as I do to Totomaru," he chortled. "But you don't stand out much for a runt."

"That's a good thing?" I whispered quietly. Suddenly, Gajeel let out a boisterous chuckle. He ruffled my hair making my small tufts fall into almost impossible positions.

"So the kid can talk," he gasped in amazement. I scoffed and scowled, offended by his remark.

"Is there something I can do for you?" I inquired. "Even with my magic, I'm of no use physically. You're the strongest in that area." Gajeel gave me the famous Redfox smirk for the first time that day, and for the first time in my life, I was intimidated and I felt fearful under the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"I don't need your strength," he stated plainly. "I need your eyes and ears to hear for things I wouldn't find on my own."

"You want me to spy for you?" I exclaimed. Gajeel nodded.

"And I'll pay you back for it. On my word and honor as a dragon slayer, I'll personally tutor you. We'll be... Sworn brothers. What do you say?" The thought was exhilarating. To train under Black Steel Gajeel himself? That was a privilege that I would never forget.

And so, the time had come that I returned. In the end, Phantom Lord had failed, but true to his word, Gajeel taught me how to truly fight and utilize my abilities despite his injuries. I soon became somewhat equal to my 'brother' and I had truly found someone who could become my friend.

But bonds become severed and thrown away. Of all places that could have reached out to Gajeel, the one guild I loathed came. Fairy Tail's own Master Makarov came out and asked for Gajeel to join. To my dismay, my mentor had accepted. And though Gajeel extended the offer to me as his one and only star pupil, I refused to associate with the ones that destroyed Phantom Lord.

So, we parted ways.

There are times I regretted this decision, but I suppose some of the results worked out. But, that was in the long run.

My life descended into hell only a week later after my departure from Magnolia, Oak Town, and that whole area of Fiore.

Somewhere along my journey, I had stumbled beyond the mountains and had delved in a land I knew nothing of. There I met the one man who would mold me into a mindless soldier, a mechanical mage.

He approached me first on that fateful day.

In a gruff stern voice, he asked, "Boy, are you the one known as Rogue Cheney?" His question baffled me. Only two figures had known my real name, and they were Skiadrum and Jose.

Despite my feelings of dread, I responded with a solid, "Yes, sir." The large tall man looked me over with narrowed disgusted eyes before holding out a scroll.

I recognized the parchment almost instantly. It was my contract with ex-master Jose. I unrolled it. Oddly, a new section had been added. And these new words were shocking.

"Due to the current circumstances, the servitude of Rogue Cheney will be transferred over to the authority of Sabertooth. Until he reaches his 16th day of coming, Jiemma Orland will take over as Rogue Cheney's initial master."

I looked this over one last time before returning the scroll to the large man.

"I see," were the words that left my mouth. "You are Master Jiemma then?"

"I am. We return to the guild immediately for your... Initiation," he said. He turned to leave and my heavy legs trudged on to follow. An edge to his words left a dry feeling in my throat, like a desert had suddenly made its home inside me.

And my gut feeling had been correct.

The moment we stepped into town, I could almost smell the fear floating in the air. As we passed, the townspeople looked and stared in terror, frozen under the gaze of Master Jiemma and pitiful upon sighting me, a small child.

The guild itself was alluring. With walls of a castle and tapestries that seemed to belong to an emperor. The building was a treasure in itself, all of which was guarded with a great stone two-fanged wildcat, the saber-toothed tiger.

From this moment, my fate was set in stone and the inevitable path of power and destruction opened its jaws and consumed me whole.

The first task laid before me had already left blood in my wake and the life of an innocent man fell upon my shoulders. It was a duel to the end as Master Jiemma had put it. But the end meant death in my childhood. Skiadrum's life met his end at my own hand. Phantom Lord ended after suffering defeat. All things that have been lost have ended in death. That was my logic.

As messed up as that was though, it pleased Master Jiemma in a sick way. The sadistic man was satisfied and I had kissed up to him willingly. It was all out of my respect for the contract that bound my life.

However, none of the residing mages knew about that blasted paper. So, I was loathed and hated as being a favorite. On more than one occasion, I was beat and bruised until I could barely stand. Because of this, there were times I failed and was humiliated. I could do nothing to change my punishments, my merits, or my life, until he arrived.

Oddly, it was during a nightmare I first saw him. It was a living nightmare, a memory, of my first trial of a dead man.


End file.
